[adhrp]

So jelly! I absolutely love the American West and miss my time there. Did plenty of road trips back then, but feel like I could have done more (in my 328i at the time).

Congrats on the new car! Why go from one M850i to another so quickly though. Any major changes in the new one? Does it feel different from the previous one?

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by adhrp

So jelly! I absolutely love the American West and miss my time there. Did plenty of road trips back then, but feel like I could have done more (in my 328i at the time).

Congrats on the new car! Why go from one M850i to another so quickly though. Any major changes in the new one? Does it feel different from the previous one?

Like I said above, I got a great deal AND wiped 48,500 miles off the clock. New car, new color, favorite interior, got B&W back, lower payment. No brainer.

Differences: Not much. This is an LCI, which added the bigger screen and a few other tiny changes. Newer is tighter, rides nicer. Engine sound is not as good. Previous engine sound profiles were Quiet, Balanced and Sporty. You could drive around in Comfort settings with a throaty roar in Sporty - I liked that. Now the three choices are Quiet, Balanced and Depends on Driving Conditions. No more Sporty in Comfort. WTF?

Plus, there's an annoying whistle/whine between 15 and 25 mph that I'll need to have looked at. It'll probably go one of two ways: No, we don't hear anything, or That's just the turbos (even tho it's a sound I've never heard on any other BMW I've ever driven.

Transmission doesn't seem as smooth, yet. Gas mileage seems poorer. Only have 1200 miles and haven't really had it out on the road yet. Gonna be another great road car again, though. Can't wait to get the snows off and my wider Michelin summers back on. Only 11.5 weeks until Spring.

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by snowbimmer

Like I said above, I got a great deal AND wiped 48,500 miles off the clock. New car, new color, favorite interior, got B&W back, lower payment. No brainer.

Differences: Not much. This is an LCI, which added the bigger screen and a few other tiny changes. Newer is tighter, rides nicer. Engine sound is not as good. Previous engine sound profiles were Quiet, Balanced and Sporty. You could drive around in Comfort settings with a throaty roar in Sporty - I liked that. Now the three choices are Quiet, Balanced and Depends on Driving Conditions. No more Sporty in Comfort. WTF?

Plus, there's an annoying whistle/whine between 15 and 25 mph that I'll need to have looked at. It'll probably go one of two ways: No, we don't hear anything, or That's just the turbos (even tho it's a sound I've never heard on any other BMW I've ever driven.

Transmission doesn't seem as smooth, yet. Gas mileage seems poorer. Only have 1200 miles and haven't really had it out on the road yet. Gonna be another great road car again, though. Can't wait to get the snows off and my wider Michelin summers back on. Only 11.5 weeks until Spring.

Makes sense, enjoy! Looking forward to more road trip threads.

[colorado.e9x]

Originally Posted by snowbimmer

Haha. You won't need the mileage - - - - because YOU ALREADY FREAKING LIVE THERE!! I'm 1,200 miles just to get to Ouray.

I fully agree with your assessment of the area around Ouray Ha - - great minds.........
Attachment 3630732
Your car is quite the eye catcher. Is that a wrap?

I had to re-read from my previous trip about getting a 2025 San Remo. Oh, well....plan your work, work your plan I guess.

I don't know if you caught my main 2022 fall extravaganza through Colorado from a couple of years back. It's a long thread, but the back half is unbelievable, what with Crested Butte, Telluride, Million Dollar Highway and Grand Mesa. The fall colors were killing it. It's certainly your state in all its fall glory.

https://f92.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1966646

Crested Butte
Attachment 3630728

Telluride
Attachment 3630729

Attachment 3630730

HWY 145
Attachment 3630731

Grand Mesa
Attachment 3630733

Attachment 3630734

I told the other half that we seriously need to spend part of every September in Colorado somehow. Surprisingly, I didn't get an argument.

Happy motoring Get that bumble bee out there.

It does make it a little easier haha!

Ouray is my go-to. Mostly because its the closest true mountain town to me & there's less snobs and modern day hippies compared to the others. If you can squeeze it, highly recommend a winter trip out here. The hot springs while its snowing and 32°F out is truly something special.

Thank you, and yes it is! Inozetek Dandelion Yellow. Time for a new wheel setup though, chalk gray doesn't match the chrome

Damn cool looking car man. Love that color.

That would be the extravaganza I was referring to Pictures on your threads are having a hard time loading atm so I can't recall what exactly it was. It was an old green wagon, I remember that much.

I haven't been to CB in quite some time. Really pretty in the spring though, the wildflowers are spectacular there!

I love hitting the Mesa. Great spot. The reward of an aggressive canyon run at the end hitting i70 always tickles me.

Without a doubt September is my favorite month to take a scenic drive out here. The fall colors between Ridgway & Durango are to die for. I plan on doing an extensive round trip trip each season to take it all in. Whitewater -> Gateway (they have a car museum there too) -> Nucla (lunch at the diner) -> Telluride -> Durango (dinner, stay for the night) -> Silverton -> Ouray -> back home. While dirt and sometimes unforgiving for a luxury sedan, Last Dollar Road & Owl Creek Pass through Cimarron out to highway 50 are amazing fall drives as well. Theres a couple more I can't think of off the top of my head at the moment.

Some other things you can check out:
Marble + Slow Groovin BBQ

Blue Mesa Reservoir -> Hotchkiss + Zacks BBQ

Typically not a BBQ guy but man they hit the spot during a good days drive.

Anyway, here's a couple unedited pics from yesterday in Ouray

Feel free to PM me when you make it up here again if you need anything!

[paprmkr]

doing that in July subway in grou instead.

[spindlecake85]

I feel sick. Bought a 320i 2014. Loose timing chain, variable valve timing actuator failure, heater box failure. Timing chain and variable valve timing issue sorted but the heater box says blend flap failure. Anybody ever changed the driver side blend flap actuator? Been told it a heater box replacement and I’m not convinced.

[MaC-N54-E82]

This is what winning at life looks like! Thanks for sharing your amazing adventure to some of my favorite places.

[San Marino]

Glad this popped back up to see - phenomenal!!

[LDT]

Wow just WOW. Thx for sharing. We’ve done two coast to coast roadtrips and now I’m itching to do another.

[RichardInCA]

Fantastic report - you’d need chains but Yosemite in the winter is something to behold - utterly spectacular, everything looks and feels different and the crowds shrink.

Lots of feelgood vibes for my last trip to Bryce too. Thanks for taking the time to post it all.

[tsbrown]

snowbimmer Fantastic trip report as usual. The San Remo Green is a beauty, as is the interior. Drool worthy. As a kid my parents took us to the national parks so I swore them off as an adult. Until my son and I went there when he was 11. Thank God I was reminded how magnificent they. So we’ve made a point of visiting them when we can. We’re eastern time zoners so it’s not as accessible for us. But our son, now in his late 20s is a regular in Yosemite, especially during spring and fall climbing seasons, even can claim an El Cap ascent.

Seriously though, what makes the M850i a better grand tourer than the 5er? I’d love an 8GC but it’s too low for me so I traded a 540i recently for the M550i. Love the G30, and it’s even better with the V8.

[cfm56d7b]

This is a Pulitzer worthy trip journal. Thank you for sharing as I were a passenger. Stunning photos.

[heymarkv]

What an incredible story and journey, this is what it’s all about — driving your car, enjoying the journey and making beautiful life long memories.

Absolutely love this and inspires me to use my car for road trips, thank you for sharing this. Also beautiful photos 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[hotrod182]

In October, I took my i4 M50 on a fantastic 1200 mile weekend trip to the Grand Canyon. On the way back I stopped by the legendary Mrs. Orcutt's Driveway in Newbury Springs. Car and Driver used to test cars at 200MPH and Mrs. Orcutt would try and chase them away with a shot gun!

[snowbimmer]

Geez. I drop off the radar a couple days while I start a new adventure, and this thread gets resurrected and goes Front Page. Been a little busy the last three days: 1,725 miles from Portland to Lincoln NE. All part of a cross country trek to Halifax, Nova Scotia: 11,000 miles round trip, 35 days. (Yes, I have taken leave of my senses)

Outbound: We are 3rd dot from the left tonight.


Return trip:


32 degrees at 8,000 feet near Laramie this morning, blowing 60 mph.


I'll get back to some of your nice comments and questions when I get a chance. Thanks for the support.

[Bokke]

Wow!!

You are my hero, as I have always wanted to do something like this! Maybe in a couple of years when I retire!

Good luck on this adventure! Safe travels.....

[R1250GS]

Epic!

We are out of roasted chicken turns out the meatloaf was very good. 😁

Wow all I can say is wow and thanks for sharing!!!

I’d be in the 20 to 30% for sure…

[tsbrown]

Originally Posted by snowbimmer

Geez. I drop off the radar a couple days while I start a new adventure, and this thread gets resurrected and goes Front Page. Been a little busy the last three days: 1,725 miles from Portland to Lincoln NE. All part of a cross country trek to Halifax, Nova Scotia: 11,000 miles round trip, 35 days. (Yes, I have taken leave of my senses)

Outbound: We are 3rd dot from the left tonight.
Attachment 3734503

Return trip:
Attachment 3734504

32 degrees at 8,000 feet near Laramie this morning, blowing 60 mph.
Attachment 3734506

I'll get back to some of your nice comments and questions when I get a chance. Thanks for the support.

I’m making the eastern portion of your trip in a couple weeks. May I suggest you avoid NYC area traffic unless you’re stopping in to see something there. Otherwise, looking forward to another epic trip report.

[Otto Bon Jovi]

snowbimmer
Such great write up 👍

Having grown up visiting all the national parks west of the Mississippi by road ( and a few trips up into the Canadian Rockies) this definitely brings back some fond memories.

I love to drive, just to drive, no destination in mind. My wife, she drives to go someplace, not for the sheer joy of it.

She prefers to fly… until we got our latest dog. Now we drive everywhere with him. But, we rent an SUV to do it ( her corporate discount makes it a no-brainer). Last year was a Grand Cherokee hybrid for two long trips plus a new X5 xDrive50e for our Florida trip. That was a nice vehicle for road tripping.

This year will be Minnesota to Colorado in June, then back to Florida in December. Next year will be a Rocky Mountains / PNW vineyard trip over a couple of weeks plus a Florida trip in December again.

[KINY3RA]

Always good to see the trips taken by this M850!

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by MaC-N54-E82

This is what winning at life looks like! Thanks for sharing your amazing adventure to some of my favorite places.

They are pretty good, eh?

Originally Posted by San Marino

Glad this popped back up to see - phenomenal!!

Thanks

Originally Posted by LDT

Wow just WOW. Thx for sharing. We’ve done two coast to coast roadtrips and now I’m itching to do another.

I'm on one now. Fun, but a bit of a grind. Love it.

Originally Posted by heymarkv

What an incredible story and journey, this is what it’s all about — driving your car, enjoying the journey and making beautiful life long memories.

Absolutely love this and inspires me to use my car for road trips, thank you for sharing this. Also beautiful photos

Wow, thanks. Nothing better than enjoying the open road and making memories.


For all y'all:

I've posted several other road trips. Here are a couple of my favorites in no particular order:


Colorful Colorado - Sep 2022
https://f92.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1966646


Canadien Rockies - July 2023
https://f92.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2034508

Wyoming, Colorado & Utah - June 2024
https://f92.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2129278

Happy road tripping

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by RichardInCA

Fantastic report - you’d need chains but Yosemite in the winter is something to behold - utterly spectacular, everything looks and feels different and the crowds shrink.

Lots of feelgood vibes for my last trip to Bryce too. Thanks for taking the time to post it all.

I'm planning to hit Yosemite next May. I've been many times, but never with any water going over Yosemite Falls.